The Man Who Wants To Change Golf Forever

If Andrew Gardiner’s ambitious Premier Golf League plans come to fruition, top-level professional golf will never be the same again. We find out more....

- Neil Tappin

If you were to start again from scratch with a blank sheet of paper, how would you structure top-level professional golf? This is the kind of hypothetical question that sports fans debate for hours with their friends. Very few of them actually do anything about it.

The man photographed here and in our opening image is 49-year-old former corporate finance lawyer Andrew Gardiner, whose own conversations on this subject with his golfing friends have led to the creation of something more tangible: the Premier Golf League, a UK company that is proposing a revolutionary new format for competition at the highest level.

The basic idea is as follows: 18 three-round events with no cut spanning an eight-month season from January to August. The league would comprise 48 players who would compete both individually and in teams throughout the season for prize funds that far outweigh what we currently see on tour.

By creating a new competition framework for the best players, whether they’re based in the US or elsewhere, Gardiner’s proposals guarantee the world’s elite going head-to-head more often, while also injecting an exciting team dynamic.

In this exclusive interview, the man behind the Premier Golf League explains the concept, what fans can expect, and how this new format could shape the future of professional golf.

What is the idea behind the Premier Golf League?

The concept, in its simplest form, is enabling me and other fans to watch the best players in the world play on a more regular basis. It’s the kind of dream of any golf fan, I would suggest, to see those we really want to see week in, week out.